


Mary's Boy Child

by clgfanfic



Series: Shadow Chasers/X-Files - Little St. Nick [4]
Category: Shadow Chasers
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-03
Updated: 2012-11-03
Packaged: 2017-11-17 15:26:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/553071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clgfanfic/pseuds/clgfanfic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's that time of year again</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mary's Boy Child

**Author's Note:**

> Originally published in the zine The Yule #2 under the pen name J.P. Cads.

"How did I let you talk me into this?" Jonathan MacKenzie grumbled as he stepped out of the airport terminal and into the mid-morning sunlight.  He squinted agiainst the glare and wrinkled his nose at the dominating odor of gasoline while he watched his traveling companion hail a cab.  "I can't believe I let you talk me into this.  I should have known better, I really should."

"Trust me, Jack, you're gonna _love_ this!" Edgar Benedek assured as he waved a short-revealed leg and held up his luggage and shook it at the line of cabs waiting outside the terminal. 

The Georgetown professor studied the car that lurched out of line and made a bee-line for them like it was a specimen come alive from some prehistoric time.  Bright yellow and orange paint covered most of the vintage 1949 sedan, but large splotches of paint had peeled off over rust spots.  As the car grew closer he could see the upholstery inside the vehicle was bright green, and an equally eye-numbing blue fringe dangled from the top of the front and rear windshields.  Fuzzy purple dice hung from the rearview mirror.

The engine chugged noisily, occasionally belching a puff of blackish smoke from the tailpipe.  The rolling sensual assault stopped next to the curb and the young black man who sat, beating out a reggae rhythm on the steering wheel, grinned and shouted over the music, "I popped the boot, mon, toss your stuff in!"

Benny smiled and nodded, heading for the back of the cab, Jon following.  "Benedek, are you sure we couldn't just wait for the hotel shuttle?"

The journalist paused a moment to admire the dark red velvet that lined the trunk, then tossed his two bags in and grabbed Jon's out of his hands before the anthropologist could bolt.  "Naw, we're not staying at one of those tourist trap hotels, Johnny-boy.  Who do you think I am?"

"We're not?"  Jon asked.  "But you said—"

"I said I had some ho-ho-ho-holiday vacation plans for us," Benny said.  "And I do, Jon-boy, I do.  Trust me, you're gonna _love_ this trip."

The pair walked around the car, Jonathan reluctantly following Benedek into the cab.  "That doesn't make me feel any better about this," Jon muttered as he slid in next to his companion and blinked at the bright green that attacked his senses.

"Where to, mon?"  the young driver asked, flashing a bright smile at the two men.  "First time in Jamacia, mon?  I know all the places to see—"

"Naw," Benny said with a slight wave of his hand.  "Been here lots of times," he said, then leaned forward and added with a lude grin, "but Jack-o here's a virgin."

"I am _not_ ," Jon snapped softly, looking decidedly affronted.

The young man nodded, his grin growing even wider.  "This is the place, then, mon.  Sun, sand, and, well, you know."  He wagged his eyebrows suggestively at Jon in the rearview mirror.

"He's not old enough to have a driver's license," Jon whispered worriedly to Benny.  "Let alone know about… _that_."

Benny ignored the comments, leaning forward so he could whisper their destination to the man.  The boy's eyes widened slightly and he nodded.  "Yeah, mon, I know the place.  Hold on!"

Benny bounced back against the green seat as the cab lurched away from the curb, but his smile never wavered.  The cab shot into the traffic flow, jerking around people on bicycles and chugging past other cars and cabs.  After several minutes they reached an empty road that wound its way along the coatline, the road rising and falling like a theme-park rollercoaster.

Benny glanced at MacKenzie, whose complexion nearly matched the upholstery and smiled.  "Still a little queasy in the old belly-o, huh, Jack?"

Jon nodded, looking for a motion sickness bag and finding only a couple of old swimsuit issues from _Sports Illustrated_ on the floorboards.  He scooted closer to the window and rolled it down as far as he could, then stuck his face out and sucked in the warm, humid island air.  Even the scenic coastline, complete with sunbathers, sailboats, and the occasional horseback rider making its way along the beach didn't appeal to him as it zipped by.

"This is gonna be great!  Sand, sun, palm trees—"

"Benedek, it's Christmastime!"  Jon moaned and shook his head.  "I knew I should have stayed in Washington; gone up to the Hampshires – snow, ice, pine trees…"

"Snow?  Wicked white stuff, Jon-boy."

MacKenzie glanced at his beaming, tanned companion.  "Yes, _snow!_   It's Christmas, Benedek!  Christmas!  Snow, chestnuts roasting on an open fire, carolers caroling, silver bells ringing, sleigh bells dingalinging.  That's Christmas, not, this— this—this adolescent summer vacation!"

"No, mon," the driver corrected.  "It's Christmastime here, too, mon.  Mary's boy child gonna be born day after tomorrow and he'll be walkin' with us."

Jonathan rolled his eyes and sucked in another deep breath of the humid air, letting his head rest against the side of the door.

Benedek leaned in closer to the anthropologist and said softly, "I didn't tell you who we were meeting here, did I?"

"No, you didn't tell me who we were meeting here," Jon whispered back hotly. "You didn't tell me anything except that you were taking me someplace _nice_ for Christmas!  _Nice_ , Benedek!  This is not nice!  When can we go home?"

"You're going to love it," Benedek said confidently.  "Trust me."

"I'm going to love it," MacKenzie mimicked hotly.  His eyes popped open and he swallowed hard as the cab bottomed out and started another climb.  "And who are we going to meet, Santa Claus?"

Benny's eyes rounded with surprise.  "How'd you know?" he asked in a whisper.

Jon's eyes dropped closed again and he sighed heavily.  "Maybe I can get a flight back to Washington," he muttered.


End file.
